Our search was fruitless.... or shall I say 'onion'less...
Anywho. So why waste time driving around searching for overpriced French Onion Soup anyways? Make it at home!
I had no idea how to make french onion soup,
so I went around feeding a bunch of different French Onion Soup recipes,
then I made my own soup!
Rich & Soothing French Onion Soup
Ingredients:
- 4 medium or 3.5 large yellow onions
- 3 cans of low sodium, low fat chicken broth (if you want to make your own broth, it's 5 1/4 cups)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 - 1/4 tsp black pepper (amount depends on your preference)
- 3/4 cup dry white wine ( I used 2 buck chuck wine and it was really good!)
- 1-3/4 tsp all-purpose flour
- 3 tbs butter
- 1/8 tsp dried parsley
- 1/8 tsp dried thyme
- 3/8 inch Baguette slices (or bread of your choice. I used whole wheat bread)
- 1-1/2 cups of grated Gruyere cheese
The great thing about this soup, is that it's not very expensive to make (the only expensive ingredient is the cheese), and it's quite filling!
Instructions:
1. Slice onions very thinly. About 1/8 inch thick. The thicker you slice the onion, the more noticeable and more chewing you will have to do, when you are drinking your soup! So you can't be lazy with this job!
2. In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
3. When butter is completly melted, add all the onions, salt and pepper. The onions maybe seem overflowing at first. But they will quickly cook down.
4. Caramelize the onions!
5. How do you caramelize onions? Turn the heat on medium. When you stir the onions, make sure they are all evenly coated with the butter.
6. Turn the onions with your spatula every few minutes or so. This is to prevent the onions from burning.
7. Continue to toss and turn the onions for about 35 minutes, until they turn into a dark rich golden color. This is the sugar in the onion caramelizing.
8. When you are done with the 35 minutes of onion turning, then congratulations! You have finished the most annoying part of the recipe!
9. When your onions are all caramelized, and golden (a dark straw color), stir in the flour and cook for another 3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
10. Add the white wine, and stir and scrape for 5 minutes, to loosen any caramelized juices.
11. When ready, add all the chicken broth and the herbs (parsley and thyme).
12. Stir and soup and bring to a simmer.
13. Taste your soup. If it is not salty enough, then add more salt. And add more pepper if you desire too. If it's too salty, either add more broth, or a few drops of water.
14. Cover the pot, and let the soup simmer on medium-low heat for 25 minutes. Stir every 10 minutes or so.
15. Toast your sliced bread in the oven at 350 degrees, until golden.
16. Turn off the flame of your soup, at the end of the 25 minute mark.
17. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees.
18. Pour hot soup into oven-safe serving bowls.
19. Top the surface of your soup with the bread slices.
20. Top the soup and bread with the shredded gruyere cheese. Be generous, and don't leave any gaps! The cheese is the good part!
21. Place the bowls in the oven, for about 10-15 minutes, or until the gruyere cheese is bubbling, melting, and turning golden.
22. Be careful when taking the bowls out! Very hot!
23. Enjoy! mmm.
24. I surprised myself when I tasted my soup. Tastes just like the way it does at pricey restaurants!
PHEW! That was a lot of steps!
A photo of my French Onion Soup!
(I didn't fill my bowl to the top because I wasn't very hungry! but it was still delicious nonetheless)
It was so good, it absolutely tastes like the real thing!
ReplyDeleteI can also sttest that this tasted exactly like French Onion Soups at restaurants. It was better than most that I've had in fact! I was so amazed. It is definitely rich tasting and filling. An amazing recipe and chef!
ReplyDelete